Here, eggplants, red peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, onions and zucchini are cooked separately and then layered in a cazuela (gratin) and baked until they melt together. This is a good dish for late summer when these vegetables are at their prime.

A classic filling for fresh fruit tarts, èclairs, and cream pies, pastry
cream is really just a flour-thickened custard sauce, which also means that it can take
on a near-endless variety of flavorings, from spices and citrus to chocolates and liqueurs.

Unlike the apple varieties sold in most supermarkets, selected for their ability to store for months, heirloom apples may not be good keepers. But when fresh off the tree, as you will find them at farmers’ markets and in CSA shares, they have a perfume and juicy sweetness that few storage apples can match.

Though this salad is delicious without the fried oysters, which can be found on page 4, I find I’m always frying up a batch to top the colorful
spinach salad embellished with hearts of palm and fresh tomato.

Buttery spritz cookies, the much-anticipated standard on the holiday cookie platter, deserve to be enjoyed all year-round. Instead of saving these for special occasions, why not make some to enjoy with a cup of tea, as an after-school snack, or with a bowl of ice cream?

Hurray for real mac and cheese. It’s crazy to eat the stuff from the
box when the real deal is so easy to make and so totally superior. Do
use a cheese with some character, however, or the bland noodles will
dominate.

This is a take on the classic dish beef wellington. Here we use pork to create a lighter dish and puff pastry instead of the traditional brioche. To balance the heavy and earthy flavors of the mushrooms, the dish is finished with a simple parsley pistou.

If you haven't considered tropical fruit in a crisp, you've got to try this
combination of warm, sweet pineapple paired with tart kumquats and spicy ginger,
all under a crunchy coconut topping. It's perfect for winter and early spring, when
tropical fruits and citrus are at their best and we crave big bold flavors. ...